Getting Closer

[Subject 37]

Zeltros
[member="Joza Perl"]

Jorg stepped off the ancient Lambda class shuttle with more than a little bit of a limp, his muscles protesting as he slowly began to walk down the ramp.

Mirial had not been all that kind to him, though he'd made it off the planet alive at least. The battle had been a fierce one, with both sides taking massive casualties throughout it's course. Nova had been lucky enough to get most of its men out alive, though the run in Jorg had ended up in with Sith was what had caused the unpleasantness in his leg. A lightsaber hurt, as he'd found out, and seared the muscle away in an instant.

It was something he was unlikely to forget, and something he wondered about.

How'd he gone this long without getting hit with one of those things?

The Soldier grimaced slightly as he stepped off the ramp, an action that took a lot more effort on his part than he would have liked. There was a lot of pain surging through hi, though the prospect of what he was about to do helped him overcome it more than a little bit.

It had been years since Jorg called anyone outside of the military his friend, even longer since he'd been open about it. Back on Bastion friendship was almost as dangerous as engaging in politics, and he'd always had to keep his cards close to his chest. Out here though? Out here it didn't matter.

The last time he'd visited this world he'd met Joza, a remarkable woman that he couldn't help but be fond of. It was she that had pushed him to start the Nova Defense Force, an act that had gained him significant independence. It was an odd feeling of sorts, being able to act on his own, yet he found more joy in it than anything he'd done in the last few years. That alone made him thankful to her, and it was why he'd brought the small present he carried in his back pack.

That and he wanted to see her expression. "Taxi!"

Jorg called out to one of the bright yellow speeders, giving the droid pilot the address Joza had given him in her letter.

 

[Joza Perl]

By now Joza was well enough to return home unassisted, stable to the point where she tried to immerse herself back into work. It had always been her big distraction from whatever else was going on her life, but with the time away she was starting to feel the urgency to return to her business. There was only so much virtual paperwork she felt comfortable pushing off onto someone else. Until she could return in full force, she’d have to make do with working from home.

Not that she minded entirely—it gave her more time with Alan, something she always wanted. While she enjoyed the independence of running her own successful business, it took time away from her little family.

Said little family was currently engrossed in playing with his toy speeders on the carpet. Joza had to smile as her vision—what was left of it, anyway—was drawn from the datapad to the toddler and all of the speeder noises he was making.

She couldn’t say no to Jorg’s message. The soldier was one of the most guarded yet genuine people she’d met, especially on Zeltros where falsifying emotions was commonplace.

She’d changed someone since their last encounter. Though well on the way to recovery, her nails were still regrowing so her hands were kept gloved, duraglass eye in place while her implant was being constructed. It sucked having impaired vision, but it was what it was.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Jorg stepped out of the speeder with that limp still clinging to him, his hands used to steady himself as he pulled his way free of the Taxi. The droid said something to him, but Jorg was somewhat lost in the nerves of the moment.

Joza had brought him out of his shell before, the last time he'd been here, and that was dangerous. The lies that he lived were a very carefully crafted mask, and although he was generally capable of keeping them easily in place...Joza had a habit of making them slip. It was dangerous for him to interact with her, even now he wasn't entirely sure about coming here, but he just couldn't help himself. Friendship was rare for him, and what Joza had done? He'd thought that all but impossible.

A frown pulled on his lips as he pulled out a stack of credits for the droid. "Here."

The soldier said as he closed the door behind him.

There was no telling how this little visit would go, and in truth Jorg knew that he never should have come. Even now there was a possibility of slipping up, of revealing who he really was, the shame that he carried. Yet he couldn't turn back. He wouldn't have been able to say why, but perhaps it was simply because he was tired of being alone.

Before he knew it he was standing at the front door, his finger gently pressing the doorbell.

 

[Joza Perl]

At the sound of the doorbell, Alan’s head turned towards the door. His little eyes widened in surprise, one hand still on the toy speeder bike.

“Mama.” He informed, pointing towards the source of the sound. “Go out.” He declared. It probably wasn’t exactly what he intended to say, but those were the words he knew that matched up with the door.

Joza arched a brow and pushed herself away from the counter, making sure to lock her datapad before she stepped away. If she turned her back, who knows how quickly he’d climb up there and try to play with the device—not that she’d be too happy about that.

Making her way over to the door, she exhaled lowly before opening it with a polite smile. “Jorg, it’s ni—“

She was interrupted by the child on the carpet a little ways behind her.

“Hiiiii!” Alan waved to the stranger and Joza’s smiled turned a little wry.

Foregoing the rest of the greeting, she opened the door a little wider. “Come in, then. How was your trip?”

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Jorg grinned slightly as Joza found herself interrupted by the voice of her son, though it did nothing to alleviate the concern he felt at her features.

Though she had all but healed now, Jorg could still see the vague bruises, cuts, and slightly scuffs along her skin. His instinct was to ask her what had happened, where she'd gotten hurt, a dozen other questions, all of which were stopped by the presence of Alan. He wasn't used to children, but he wasn't a fool either. This was neither the time nor the place to ask.

"Thank you." Jorg said with a genuine smile on his face, following behind Joza as she stepped inside.

He had never actually met Alan before on his last visit, though Joza had spent quite a bit of their conversation talking about him. In part it had reminded him of his little sister, how he'd spent most of his child hood taking care of her. This was different of course, but as the little boy looked back at him Jorg couldn't help but make a silly face.

The act was received with a small giggle, though if Joza looked back she'd find nothing but Jorg's usual stern face.

 

[Joza Perl]

She vaguely noticed the sound of her son giggling as she closed the door behind Jorg, leading him over to the counter where he could sit.

Meanwhile, Alan pushed his hands against the floor to help prop himself up as he stood before toddling over to his mother and holding his arms out to her. “Up!” Came the declaration just before the Zeltron gathered him into her arms.

“I’m sure by now you’ve guessed who this is.” She smiled and brushed back the child’s hair. True to her word, it was the same shade of striking red as her own, yet he didn’t inherit his mother’s pink pigment. “Can you say ‘Hi Mr. Jorg’?” She cooed down at Alan who seemed to be content to stare at the newcomer silently, evaluating the new guest in their home from the safety of his mother’s arms. Accordingly, one hand had fisted into her shirt.

“How are you doing, Jorg?”

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

"Well enough." Jorg said truthfully with a slight smile touching his face.

Mirial hadn't been all that harsh to him, and the few operations before that had been a breeze. Nova hadn't been running for all that long just yet, but they had a few things going that he was more than proud of. Aside from that there was the fact that they weren't swimming in debt, something he owed mostly to the kind donations of various companies that had sought their work.

It had allowed Nova to get on their feet fairly early on. They had yet to turn a profit, but at the very least they were keeping their head above water. It was something Jorg could be proud of, though not enough to brag. Not that he would.

"A few new scars." He joked quietly. "Nothing I can't handle."

Jorg smiled at her, his gaze flicking to Alan for a moment before he finally brightened up slightly. "Oh. I brought you something."

He paused, then smiled at the Zeltron. "Both of you."

The Soldier had figured it would have been rude if he'd brought something for Joza but nothing for Alan, mostly because he remembered his own feelings of disappointment whenever his sister had been given a gifts by relatives but not him. It hadn't happened often of course, but he'd always been expected to perform his duty rather than play with toys.

 

[Joza Perl]

A slight frown of concern tinged her lips as she adjusted the toddler in her arms. He was getting heavier!

“Are you alright?” She asked simply, unafraid to show concern in front of her son. Though there were many messy aspects of life she wanted to shield him from at this age, she was determined to teach him compassion and concern.

Her expression gained a small degree of surprise when he said he’ brought them something. “Oh, you don’t have to…not a souvenir from Mirial, I hope?” She mused as Alan grew bored and began to squirm again while making little grunting noises.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

"I'm fine, just took a few hits is all." The Armor had helped with that, but it still hurt. There was only so much that fiberplast could do, and the blasters the Sith troopers had been using were something else. He recalled being rather happy about the fact that he'd been the one holding the disruptor in the fight, mostly because he'd gotten hit so many times that he was sure he would've been Corellian cheese if the weaponry had been reversed.

"Doctors gave me the all clear." Jorg said with a smile. "Just not to work."

Not his line of work anyway. Of course the question of him being okay brought Joza's own condition to the front of his mind. He frowned for a moment, glancing at Alan who was slowly attempting to squirm out of his mother's grip. Jorg looked thoughtful for a moment, then mouthed the words to Joza. "Are you alright?"

The gifts were momentarily forgotten about, Jorg half stopping as he pulled his backpack in front of himself.

 

[Joza Perl]

She nodded. "I hope you’re taking some time off to relax.” That was something he needed to work on from her perspective—though she wasn’t very good at it herself. They were both active people.

Joza gave up and let the toddler squirm his way out of her arms where he promptly ran back over to the carpet where his toys are. She seemed to be about to admonish him when Jorg mouthed his concern to her.

She nodded slowly in response. She hadn’t been alright for a while, but with her job came risks. In the end, Joza was lucky to have survived. At the same time, reconnaissance was in the works.

“Alan, come back over here—it’s rude to leave a guest like that.” She gently reprimanded the child, an edge of good humor to her tone as he turned around and walked back over to the adults. With a big grin, he held his toy speeder up in front of Jorg, showing off one of his most valuable possessions to the newcomer.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Jorg grinned slightly at Alan, looking at his backpack for a moment before unzipping the top of it.

"This is my time off." He said casually as he slowly reached into the bag and began to dig around. Jorg had never been particularly good at packing for himself, something that others around him found rather odd. He could pack a military supply bag in the blink of an eye, fitting everything and anything you would ever need inside, but the moment he was packing his own clothes and things barely came together. He'd always joked it was one of his quirks.

After a moment more of digging around he found what he was looking for.

"That's pretty cool." He told Alan. "But...Have you ever seen one of these before?"

From his bag he pulled out a small box, on the cover was one of the new StealthX wings designed by the Alliance, the plastic packaging revealing the hand sized starfighter tucked tightly inside.

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza arched a brow. “You like to babysit on your time off?” It was maybe kind of a joke.

Maybe.

She was content to watch Alan as the look on his face changed to pure curiosity and excitement at the understanding that the stranger had brought a toy for him. Yes! The toddler grinned widely and dropped the toy he was holding, eagerly accepting the box and immediately turning around to show his mother.

“Mama!” He exclaimed, shaking the box before handing it over to her. “Mama open!”

Joza paused for a moment to take in the look of pure joy on the child’s face. “Alright,” She agreed. “Give me a minute to open this. What do we say to Mr. Jorg?” Her voice trailed off, implying that this was something they’d practiced.

Alan turned back to face the man, still all smiles. “Tank you!” He exclaimed, accepting the new toy that was now unboxed and promptly started running around the room making ‘x-wing’ noises.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Jorg grinned.

"Don't think I'm qualified for that." He was smart enough to know that kids liked toys, but anything else? Well he'd probably be pretty lost. He took care of his sister when they were younger, but they also had cooks, butlers, and pretty much any other servant that one could imagine. Jorg wasn't a proper babysitter by any sort of definition of the word. Best to keep to soldiering, it was what he was best at. No one could question him on that front.

He smiled at Alan as the boy thanked him. "You're welcome."

Jorg wasn't entirely sure that the boy heard him, mostly because he was already rushing off to go play with his new toy.

"I got something for you too." Jorg said as he began to dig through his backpack. He had felt it would be rude to get Alan something and then leave Joza with nothing. He had no idea of Zeltron customs, but Jorg hadn't wanted to take any chances. "It's no X-wing, but..."

The Soldier trailed off as he pulled out a small wooden box from his bag. Inside there was a small crystal, and within that was suspended a Velanie Flower. It appeared to be little more than a paperweight, though in actual fact the crystal had been designed in some way to emit the same pleasant smell that all Velanie Flower's did, save it did not induce the allergic reaction that some felt from the plants pollen. The gift was clearly not expensive, though Jorg had put quite a bit of thought into it.

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza gave a vaguley tired smile in return.

“You’d be surprised.” Being a single mom was hard. Joza made more than enough to support them both, but she was often tied up with work and forced to leave her son with a babysitter. Some would call it selfish, but maybe they didn’t know what it was like to crawl out of a place of poverty and work tirelessly to ensure that you have the best safety net possible. She didn’t want Alan to have to grow up in a life where you had to decide between paying the utility bills and getting to eat.

Her gaze tracked from the excited toddler, a little wary that he would bump into something and either ruin the furniture or hurt himself, back to Jorg as he mentioned that he’d brought something for her as well. “You didn’t have to.” Was her reflexive response before she’d even seen what he’d brought her.

Accepting the box, she lifted the lid and eyed the crystal curiously, lifting it out of the box with her free hand to examine the flower suspended inside. It was then where she realized the gentle scent wafting from it and it made her smile again.

“Thank you, Jorg. This is a lovely gift.” She leaned in to give him a quick peck on the cheek as a thank you—something not uncommon on Zeltros between platonic friends.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Jorg turned half a shade of red, casting his eyes down.

Kissing someone on the cheek wasn't all that unusual on Bastion either, but generally it was only done when you were courting someone, or the reverse. It wasn't done among friends, though of course Jorg guessed it wasn't the same here on Zeltros. "Didn't want you to feel left out."

The Soldier said after clearing his throat for a moment.

He felt an odd tingling in his toes, though he decided that he would ignore that for now. His eyes dashed towards Alan, a smile spreading on his lips before he once again returned his attention to Joza. She did look like something had happened to her, though he wasn't entirely sure what. He searched her for any hint of an answer, though after a moment decided that doing so was probably a little bit rude. After a few seconds he looked down at his feet again before glancing up around the house.

"You have a lovely home." He told her.

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza’s smile grew into a bit of a teasing grin. Really, she was glad he’d visited and thankful for the gift but she’d noticed how easily he turned red when, oh, her top had come off during their previous meeting. Not that she tried to force herself on him, rather it was an unfortunate incident involving ice cream and a large wave at the beach.

“That was kind of you to consider me.” It really was.

When he complimented her home, she smiled graciously. “Thank you.” From the way she perked up, he’d be able to tell that she was proud of it. It was no mansion, but it was a comfortable living space for her and her child, more than she’d had growing up.

“Would you like something to drink? Coffee, tea?” She waved him over to sit by the kitchen island, a purposeful vantage point so that they could sit and talk while keeping Alan well within her sights. “You’ll have to tell me what you’ve been up to.”

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

"Coffee will do fine." Jorg said as he crossed the room, setting his pack on the seat he'd just been occupying.

There really wasn't much to tell her that she didn't already know.

When he'd founded Nova Jorg had made sure to send Joza some correspondents telling her and thanking her for the advice she'd given him. The idea had always been there of course, but she'd given him that extra little push to move forward with it. Turned out that the time had been exactly right, with wars brewing in the galaxy and even the Alliance struggling it had been an oddly, and even sadly, opportune time to start a business like the Nova Defense Force.

"I was on Mirial." He said as he sat at the Kitchen Island. "We had a few other operations too."

He shrugged. "Most of them were pretty quiet."

Little more than security gigs really.

"Still hate paperwork." The Soldier said with a small smile.

 

[Joza Perl]

She nodded, taking a step to the side of the counter against the kitchen wall where the coffee machine was. It had gotten her through most of her long nights and she’d made sure to have them installed everywhere on her circuit—her ships, her venues, her offices. Heartbeat’s reach grew with her caffeine intake.

“Miral, hm.” She’d heard vaguely about the Silver’s skirmish there. Lately she’d been backing out of galactic conflict and focusing on a different role—clean up, reconstruction and caring for those displaced by war.

She was glad he’d taken the initiative and set up his own brand of soldiers for hire. Seemed to be thriving.

“That part never goes away,” She assured him with a mirthless smile, placing the mug down in front of him. “It only gets worse.”

She liked her accounting division.

“So, any exciting stories to tell? Grievous injuries? Affairs with coworkers?”

She folded her arms against her chest and leaned her torso on the island. Off to the side, Alan had climbed onto the couch and was repeatedly crashing his new toy into the cushions.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

He smiled, then became slightly flustered at her comment. "No."

Jorg declared quickly.

"Things have been pretty boring really." The Galaxy was a dangerous place now, but for a company like his it had actually been surprisingly calm. There had been the sparks between the Empire and the Silver Jedi, but Nova hadn't really been involved in that. Apart from Mirial most of their jobs had been escorting or security, simple things where nothing had really happened. It wasn't something to complain about. Nobody had gotten hurt, nobody had any complaints, and the company made money.

"Surprisingly actually." Jorg said with a shrug. "Maybe the galaxy is sick of war."

He doubted that very much of course.

The Sith were rearing their head once again, the Empire was attempting it's expansion, and now the Mandalorians had reformed an Empire. He was sure that it was only a matter of time before they saw anotehr conflict like the one that had bloomed between the One Sith and the Republic. For now however things were calm. "You?"

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza arched a brow. “I sure hope so.”

There have been very few peaceful times since her early teenage years where she’d decided to leave her home and embark on her romantic quest to become a Jedi. Things hadn’t turned out quite how she’d expected, never did she see herself at the head of a successful industry and distant from the Jedi. She didn’t dislike them but had slowly grown more ambivalent on them over the years. Still, the Zeltron would pop in occasionally to help with humanitarian operations.

They both new that the galaxy would continue to be embroiled in war, ever since the One Sith fell it…

She paused, eyes sweeping over him as she thought back to where he said he’d come from. A Stormtrooper. From the One Sith.

He didn’t…he didn’t seem like the type. But there was still something inside her that didn’t view Stormtroopers as actual people. They were the faceless enemy, pawns of the Sith. It didn’t sync up that this kind eyed soldier had been one of them for a decade.

“The usual,” She mused, gaze traveling over to the couch where Alan had face planted into one of the cushions and was snoozing away. The corner of one of her lips lifted in quiet amusement, but she elected not to move him because he looked too comfortable. "I'm working on a line of hotels."

[member="Jorg"]